Enhanced stabilization of reverse micelles by compressed CO2

The effect of compressed CO2 on the solubilization capacity of water in reverse micelles of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) in longer chain n-alkanes was studied at different temperatures and pressures. It was found that the amount of solubilized water is increased considerably by CO2 in a suitable pressure range. The suitable CO2 pressure range in which the solubilization capacity of water could be enhanced decreased with increasing W0 (water-to-AOT molar ratio). The microenvironments in the CO2-stabilized reverse micelles were investigated by UV/Vis adsorption spectroscopy with methyl orange (MO) as probe. The mechanism by which the reverse micelles are stabilized by CO2 is discussed in detail. The main reason is likely to be that CO2 has a much smaller molecular volume than the n-alkane solvents studied in this work. Therefore, it can penetrate the interfacial film of the reverse micelles and stabilize them by increasing the rigidity of the micellar interface and thus reducing the attractive interaction between the droplets. However, if the CO2 pressure is too high, the solvent strength of the solvents is reduced markedly, and this induces phase separation in the micellar solution.     

Enhanced solubilization of bovine serum albumin in reverse micelles by compressed CO2

The effect of compressed CO2 on the solubilization of bovine serum albumin (BSA) in water/sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane reverse micelles was studied by observing phase behavior and recording UV-visible spectra under different conditions. The pH values within the water cores of reverse micelles at different CO2 pressures were also determined. The solubilization capacity of the reverse micelles for the protein increased considerably as CO2 pressure increased within the low-pressure range, but decreased at higher CO2 pressures, so that the micelles eventually lost their ability to solubilize the protein. The effect of CO2 on the stability of the reverse micelles played an important role in the relationship between pressure and protein solubility. A "multicomplex" model was proposed to explain these effects. The different solublization capacities within different pressure ranges demonstrates the unique advantage of using compressed CO2 in the extraction of proteins with reverse micelles.     

Determination of the critical premicelle concentration, first critical micelle concentration and second critical micelle concentration of surfactants by resonance Rayleigh scattering method without any probe

The purpose of this work is to determine the values of critical premicelle concentration (CPMC), first critical micelle concentration (FCMC) and second critical micelle concentration (SCMC) of surfactants using a common spectrofluorophotometer by recording resonance Rayleigh scattering (RRS) signal without any probe. The plot of the RRS intensities at the maximum scattering wavelength (I(RRS)(max)) versus surfactant concentrations (c) was constructed to obtain the I(RRS)(max)-c curve. From the inflexions in I(RRS)(max)-c curve, the CPMC, FCMC and SCMC values of a surfactant can be obtained sensitively. The FCMC of some anionic, cationic and nonionic surfactants such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), Tween-20, and Tween-80 were determined by RRS method and the values are in good agreement with those obtained from conductivity and surface tension measurements and literature values. The CPMC and SCMC of SDS and CTAB were also determined by RRS method respectively and the values conform to literature values too. Furthermore, RRS method can also be used to determine the FCMC of an amphiphilic macromolecule-hemoglobin, whose structure resembles a surfactant. From the experimental results, it is concluded that RRS method can be applied to the simultaneous determination of the CPMC, FCMC and SCMC values in a sensitive, accurate and no probe way.     

Flow-injection chemiluminescence method for determination of critical micelle concentration of surfactants

In this study, chemiluminescence (CL) behaviour of Luminol-H₂O₂ in the presence of the different concentrations of four surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and polyoxyethylene dodecyl ether (Brij-35), was investigated. A novel method for the direct determination of critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the surfactants using flow-injection CL is described. Under the optimum conditions, the luminescence intensity of the Luminol-H₂O₂ system increased gradually with increasing concentration of the surfactants before the CMC, but rapidly reached to the emission maximum at the CMC, followed by a decrease after the CMC. The concentrations of the surfactants corresponding to the luminescence maximum are in agreement with the literature CMC values. The main factors affecting the determination of CMC are discussed. The mechanistic studies show that the luminescence peaks observed in the experiment were mainly because of the protective effect of the micelle against the transition of the excited species and the retarding effect of the micelle structures on the CL reaction rate.     

Spectroscopic Studies of water-soluble porphyrins with protein encapsulated in bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelles: aggregation versus complexation

We have investigated the interaction of two water-soluble free-base porphyrins (negatively charged meso-tetrakis(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin sodium salt (TSPP) and positively charged meso-tetrakis(N-methylpyridinium-4-yl)porphyrin (TMpyP)) with two drug-carrier proteins (human serum albumin (HSA) and beta-lactoglobulin (betaLG)) in bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/isooctane/water reverse micelles (RM) by using steady-state and transient-state fluorescence spectroscopy. TSPP exhibited a complex pattern of aggregation on varying the RM size and pH in the absence of the protein: at low omega0 (the ratio of water concentration to AOT concentration, the emission of H-aggregates prevails under acidic or neutral "pH(ext)" conditions. Upon formation of the water-pool, J-aggregates and monomeric diacid species dominate at low "pH(ext)" but only monomer is detected at neutral "pH(ext)". The aggregation number increases with omega0 and the presence of the protein does not seem to contribute to further growth of the aggregate. The presence of protein leads to H-deaggregation but promotes J-aggregation up to a certain protein/porphyrin ratio above which, complexation with the monomer bound to a hydrophobic site of the protein prevails. The effective complex binding constants are smaller than in free aqueous solution; this indicates a weaker binding in these RM probably due to some conformational changes imposed by encapsulation. Only a weak quenching of TMpyP fluorescence is detected due to the presence of protein in contrast to the negative porphyrin.     

Control of nucleation and growth of gold nanoparticles in AOT/Span80/isooctane mixed reverse micelles

In this study, we demonstrate that mixed reverse micelles are good candidates to be used as nanoreactors for formation of shape-controlled high-quality colloidal nanocrystals and nanowires under mild conditions. Manipulation of the rate of nucleation and subsequent growth of the Au in the mixed reverse micelles induce drastic changes in the particle shape and structure. Here we demonstrate that control of the nucleation and growth kinetics of the Au in the mixed reverse micelles can be used to vary the shapes of the resulting particles from a nearly spherical morphology to cylinders, trigons and cubics. The characterization of the resultant particles, the effects of synthesis conditions (such as concentration of NaCl, addition of glycerol, and reaction temperature) on particle sizes, particle size distribution, and shape of particle formation have been investigated. This study will help us to understand the chemical control synthesis of crystal growth processes at the atomic level.     

Detection of the critical micelle concentration of cationic and anionic surfactants based on aggregation-induced emission property of hexaphenylsilole derivatives

We report a fluorescence “turn-on” method to detect the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of surfactants. This method works well for both cationic and anionic surfactants. It employs an unprecedented mechanism (aggregation-induced emission, or AIE) to determine the CMC values, and the results are consistent with the data obtained by the classical techniques. In addition, this method renders the convenient detection of the CMC values. Any large and professional instruments are unnecessary, instead, a portable UV lamp and an ultrasonic generator are enough to carry out the detection in an ordinary laboratory. Considering that micelles are interesting entities and have found applications in many important fields such as emulsion polymerization, template of nanosized materials synthesis, controllable drug delivery and macromolecular self-assembling. Our experimental results may offer a facile, sensitive and promising method to detect the formation of micelles constructed by the new amphiphilic molecules and macromolecules. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50573065 & 50873086) and the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (Grant No. Z406018)     

The aggregation of aqueous dodecylphosphonic acid in dodecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide mixtures

The aggregation of aqueous dodecylphosphonic acid (DPA) and dodecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (DTAOH) mixtures was studied by several methods. The behavior of DPA-rich mixtures is close to that of pure DPA. This is probably due to the preservation of the hydrogen-bonded structure of the micellar headgroup layer. The behavior is almost ideal. Betweeny _DPA =0.5 and 0.33 (y _DPA being the mole fraction of DPA in the surfactant mixture), the hydrogen-bonded structure of the micellar headgroup layer is destroyed. A sort of micellar azeotrope is formed, and the maximum of non-ideal interaction between the two surfactants is attained aty _DPA =0.4. Fory _DPA <0.33 the system behaves as a common mixture of a cationic surfactant and a non-ionic one (DPA.2LTA). There is a phenomenon of counterion condensation on aggregates at concentrations over the CMC.     

Temperature dependence of second critical micelle concentration of dodecyldimethylbenzylammonium bromide in aqueous solution

The specific conductivity of dodecyldimethylbenzylammonium bromide (C12BBr) in aqueous solutions, in the temperature range of 15 to 40 °C, has been measured as a function of molality. The two breaks which were found on the conductivity against molality plots were attributed to the critical micelle concentration, cmc, and second critical micelle concentration, 2^nd cmc, respectively. The ratio of the slopes, S, of the three linear fragments on the plots, S2/S1 and S3/S1, was attributed to the degree of ionization of the micelles at cmc and 2^nd cmc respectively. It was shown that the values of the 2^nd cmc estimated above 27 °C are only apparent due to thermal disintegration of the micelles. In the temperature range of 15 to 27 °C, the values of the 2^nd cmc increase gradually and the plot of the 2^nd cmc against temperature is concave. The ratio of 2^nd cmc/cmc for C12BBr at 25 °C amounts to 15 and appears to be high compared to the literature values for other surfactants. For comparative purposes the cmc and 2^nd cmc values were also estimated conductometrically for decyldimethylbenzylammonium bromide (C10BBr) at 25 °C. The 2^nd cmc value for this surfactant is higher compared to the value for the C12 homologue by a factor of 2.6.The standard Gibbs free energies of micellization at cmc and at the 2^nd cmc were estimated from the experimental data for both surfactants at 25 °C.     

Effect of compressed CO2 on the properties of lecithin reverse micelles

Lecithin is a very useful biosurfactant. In this work, the effects of compressed CO 2 on the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of lecithin in cyclohexane and solubilization of water, lysozyme, and PdCl 2 in the lecithin reverse micelles were studied. The micropolarity and pH value of the polar cores of the reverse micelles with and without CO 2 were also investigated. It was found that CO 2 could reduce the cmc of the micellar solution and enhance the capacity of the reverse micelles to solubilize water, the biomolecule, and the inorganic salt significantly. Moreover, the water pools could not be formed in the reverse micelles in the absence of CO 2 because of the limited amount of water solubilized. However, the water pools could be formed in the presence of CO 2 because large amounts of water could be solubilized. All of these provide more opportunity for effective utilization of this green surfactant. The possible mechanism for tuning the properties of the reverse micelles by CO 2 is discussed.     

Rapid determination of the critical micelle concentration by Taylor dispersion analysis in capillaries using both direct and indirect detection

The critical micelle concentration is a basic characteristic of surfactants. In this article, the process of formation of micelles is studied by Taylor dispersion analysis using capillary electrophoresis instrumentation as a substituent of capillary liquid chromatography. New methods for determination of critical micelle concentration are presented. Sodium octylbenzene sulfonate and sodium dodecylsulfate are used as model compounds with and without chromophore. Two novel approaches based on indirect ultraviolet detection and indirect Taylor dispersion analysis with direct ultraviolet detection are introduced for the determination of critical micelle concentration value of surfactant without any chromophore. The determined critical micelle concentration values are in correspondence with the tabulated values at 95% confidence level.     

Determination of critical micelle concentration of bile acid salts by micro-calorimetric titration

Critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of sodium salts of cholic, deoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acids in phosphate buffer (pH 7.92) have been determined from microcalorimetric titration curves. The obtained values of 18.4±0.6, 5.3±0.2 and 7.0±0.2 mM, respectively, for Na cholate, Na deoxycholate and Na chenodeoxycholate are close to literature values obtained by other methods. CMC values for secondary micelles were also obtained. This microcalorimetric titration method gives highly reproducible results and rapid determination of CMC values of bile acid salts.     

Determination of critical micelle concentrations and aggregation numbers by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy: aggregation of a lipopolysaccharide

Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) is often used to determine the mass or radius of a particle by using the dependence of the diffusion coefficient on the mass and shape. In this article we discuss how the particle size of aggregates can be measured by using the concentration dependence of the amplitude of the autocorrelation function (ACF) instead of the temporal decay. We titrate a solution of aggregates or micelles with a fluorescent label that possesses a high affinity for these structures and measure the changes in the amplitude of the ACF. We develop the theory describing the change of the ACF amplitude with increasing concentrations of labels and use it to fit experimental data. It is shown how this method can determine the aggregation number and critical micelle concentration of a standard detergent nonaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C₁₂E₉) and a lipopolysaccharide (LPS: Escherichia coli 0111:B4).     

流动注射-化学发光法测定十六烷基三甲基溴化铵的临界胶束浓度

采用流动注射技术，研究了CTAB-Luminol-H2O2体系的化学发光行为。CTAB对Luminol-H2O2体系的化学发光强度有明显的增强作用，并且在临界胶束浓度出现最大值，从而建立了流动注射-化学发光法直接测定CTAB的CMC的一种新方法，并给出了可能的作用机理。     

Higher order structure of proteins solubilized in AOT reverse micelles

The higher order structure of proteins solubilized in an bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate sodium (AOT) reverse micellar system was investigated. From circular dichroic (CD) measurement, CD spectra of cytochrome c, which is solubilized at the interface of reverse micelles, markedly changed on going from buffer solution to the reverse micellar solution, and the ellipticity values in the far- and near-UV regions decreased with decreasing the water content (W₀: molar ratio of water to AOT), indicating that the secondary and tertiary structures of cytochrome c changed with the water content. The ellipticity of ribonuclease A, which is solubilized in the center of micellar water pool, in the near-UV region was dependent on W₀ and became minimum when W₀ of ca. 8 while the ellipticity in the far-UV region was almost constant, indicating that the tertiary structure of ribonuclease A was affected by the water content, but the secondary structure was conserved. The degree of curvature of the micellar interface appears to influence the protein structure because the reverse micelle size is linearly proportional to the W₀ value. As evidence of this, when the micelle size was comparable to the protein's dimensions, the structures were more affected by the water content. Judging from the dependence of the factor influencing the protein structure on the protein species, the location of solubilized protein in reverse micelles is significantly related to whether the protein structure in the system is affected by the micellar interface. In the cases of cytochrome c and lysozyme, the ellipticity against W₀ was dependent on the AOT concentration. In contrast, ribonuclease A gave very similar ellipticity values whatever the AOT concentration. In the n-hexane micellar system, cytochrome c exhibited lower ellipticity values and ribonuclease A in the lower W₀ range (W₀ < ca. 8) higher ellipticity values. These results indicated that the interaction between the protein and the micellar interface is a dominant factor influencing the protein structure in reverse micelles, and that it is governed by the location of solubilized proteins and the state of the micellar interface.     

电导法测定无机盐对十二烷基磺酸钠溶液临界胶束浓度的影响

在40℃时利用电导法测定了无机盐NaCl、KCl、CuCl2、ZnSO4、Fe(NO3)3及AlCl3对十二烷基磺酸钠(SDS)溶液临界胶束浓度(CMC)的影响,并推导了表示无机盐浓度和SDS溶液CMC值之间关系的线性方程.结果表明,随着各种无机盐浓度的增加,SDS溶液的CMC值降低,且不同价态的金属无机盐对SDS溶液...     

The aggregation in dodecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide aqueous solutions

The aggregation of dodecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (DTAOH) aqueous solutions has been studied by several methods. It is stepwise and four critical points were found. AtC _T=(2.51±0.10)×10^–4 mol · dm^–3 the surface excess becomes zero, atC _T=(1.300±0.041)×10^–3 mol · dm^–3 small aggregates from, which grow with concentration. AtC _T=(1.108±0.010)×10^–2 mol · dm^–3 true micelles form (CMC) and at (3.02±0.28)×10^–2 mol · dm^–3 the structure of micelles probably changes affecting their properties. The DTAOH micelles are highly ionized (=0.8) at the CMC, and decreases to reach very small values when the total concentration increases.     

Polysorbate20 adsorption layers below and above the critical micelle concentration over aluminum; cloud point and inhibitory role investigations at the solid/liquid interface

Non‐ionic polysorbate20 surfactant was used to produce adsorption protective layers below and above its critical micelle concentration (CMC) at the liquid/solid interface. The well‐ordered accumulation of surfactant molecules on the metal surface below the CMC led to the formation of oriented surfactant monolayers. On the other hand, as the surfactant concentration increased above the CMC, the monodisperse micelles, free surfactant molecules and oriented surfactant monolayers undergo aggregate formation and produce a turbid solution. The gradual increase in the number and size of aggregates leads to phase separation and hence disassembled protective layers that allow easier penetration of corrosive HCl at a metal surface. This was demonstrated by inhibition efficiency, activation energy, enthalpy and entropy of activation values. Two‐dimensional irregular crystalline sheets accumulated at the surface of aluminum, as shown by scanning electron micrographs. Adsorption of polysorbate20 at the aluminum surface exhibited a Temkin isotherm fit. Larger desorption processes at the cloud point demonstrate aggregate formation and phase separation, and hence poorer adsorption layers at the metal surface. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.